It’s completely wrong. Balloon framing was eliminated because the voids extending between floors are fire hazards. Modern homes usually use platform framing… each section of the house is essentially and independently framed box that’s bolted together.
My dad was a firefighter and later a chief who served on a state codes commission. He dealt with hundreds of fires in homes built this way, they were destructive only secondarily to “cock loft” rowhouses with shared attics.
We happen to live in a house built this way - whenever we renovate a section of the house we have modifications done to exterior walls to reduce the risk, which is that a fire, say one originating in an electrical outlet, can travel up to the roof in <7m. Once the roof is involved, the house is toast in as little as 15m.
There's plenty of modern balloon framed houses still built. Tim Uhler is a Instagram-famous framer (https://www.instagram.com/awesomeframers/) working in the PNW and builds very high-performance homes, many of which are balloon framed. He's written for Fine Homebuilding about his technique and why it saves labor and reduces fall risk since they can frame, sheath, and often side the walls while they're flat on the ground and then lift them into place.
Dude is super sharp, plus wants to make sure he and his team all can work into their 50s, so they spend money on lifts and tools that make their jobs safer.
> It’s completely wrong. Balloon framing was eliminated because the voids extending between floors are fire hazards. Modern homes usually use platform framing… each section of the house is essentially and independently framed box that’s bolted together.
That's explained in the article, with a drawing even.
My dad was a firefighter and later a chief who served on a state codes commission. He dealt with hundreds of fires in homes built this way, they were destructive only secondarily to “cock loft” rowhouses with shared attics.
We happen to live in a house built this way - whenever we renovate a section of the house we have modifications done to exterior walls to reduce the risk, which is that a fire, say one originating in an electrical outlet, can travel up to the roof in <7m. Once the roof is involved, the house is toast in as little as 15m.